This invention relates to the telecommunications field. More precisely, the invention relates to the implementation and use of telephone terminals.
In particular, this invention is applicable to telephone terminals designed to work in cooperation with a removable data medium (conventionally but not necessarily such as radio telephony terminals or fixed telephones). For example, in the latter case it is applicable to telephones equipped with a smart card reader, each user having a card defining his authorizations and/or options, so that he can use any telephone even if it is not his own.
In particular, but not exclusively, the telephone terminal according to the invention may specifically be a radio telephone (or Mobile Equipment, ME, in the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) terminology) for example compatible with a GSM, DCS 1800 (xe2x80x9cDigital Cellular System 1800 MHzxe2x80x9d), PCS 1900 (Personal Communication System), DECT (xe2x80x9cDigital European Cordless Telecommunicationsxe2x80x9d), or UMTS (xe2x80x9cUniversal Mobile Telecommunication Systemxe2x80x9d) radiocommunications system.
Conventionally, telephone terminals offer a wide variety of settings, configuration, selection and usage of options, to the user. Different aspects of these first xe2x80x9cfunctionsxe2x80x9d offered to the user are then presented. For example, the simplest functions are the adjustment of the volume, the screen brightness, and short numbering.
The removable data medium used in the above mentioned radio telephones is usually called the SIM card. According to standards in force at the present time, the radio telephone comprises means of reading and/or writing a subscriber identity module that can control the radio telephone. The subscriber identity module is usually called the SIM according to the GSM technology, or DAM (for DECT Authentication Mobile) according to the DECT terminology.
The SIM card also offers a number of functions to the user. In particular, it offers access to services provided by the operator who issued the card or by service providers approved by him.
This second function set may be viewed and used in a similar manner to the functions offered directly by the terminal, using the terminal screen and keypad.
The use of these two function sets, a first set corresponding to the terminal and a second set corresponding to the removable data medium, can cause technical and ergonomic difficulties.
Firstly, the presentations and uses may be different, which can cause some difficulties for the user.
Furthermore and more importantly, it is often found that the same function may be offered at the same time (possibly in a different form) firstly by the terminal and secondly by the removable data medium. In other words, some functions are present in both function sets (xe2x80x9cduplicatexe2x80x9d functions).
This situation creates a problem for the user who no longer knows where to find a specific function, in other words what menu to look in. Furthermore, the settings are not necessarily identical (for example an adjustment range from 1 to 5 for the volume in the terminal, and from 1 to 8 in the removable data medium).
Technically, this introduces unnecessary duplication of some means (particularly memory).
However it is impossible or difficult to include all functions in only one of the two sets. Some are specific to the terminal and others to the operator (and therefore to the removable object). Furthermore in some cases, the operator would like the function that he is offering to take priority over the function offered by the terminal (for example access to an Internet service).
The main objective of this invention is to overcome these disadvantages in the state of the art.
More precisely, one of the objectives of this invention is to provide a technique that can optimize the management and use of functions available in a telephone terminal. In particular, one objective of the invention is to control and avoid the presence of xe2x80x9cduplicatexe2x80x9d functions, in other words to present a single function once only in the telephone terminal.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a technique for optimizing the use of the different functions and making them consistent with each other.
Another particular objective of the invention is to provide this type of technique that gives priority to functions offered by the operator.
Another objective of the invention is to provide such a telephone terminal capable of optimizing the allocation of available resources (particularly in terms of available memory capacity).
These various objectives, and others that will become clear later, are achieved according to the invention using a telephone terminal comprising means of reading a removable data medium,
the said telephone terminal comprising first means of selection and/or adjustment of a first function set and the said removable data medium comprising second means of selection and/or adjustment of a second function set,
characterized in that it comprises means of deleting a function present in the said second function set, from the first function set.
In other words, when a function is common to the function set for the telephone terminal and the function set for the removable data medium, only the corresponding function included within the function set provided on the removable data medium will be kept. Therefore, the invention proposes an improvement to the management of function sets available by deleting the xe2x80x9cduplicatexe2x80x9d function(s).
This very much simplifies the use of the different functions. The operator can adapt and homogenize the presentation of most functions, for example within one or several menus and/or submenus.
Advantageously, the said deletion is systematically, immediately that the removable data medium is inserted in the said telephone terminal.
Consequently, a user of the telephone terminal does not need to take any action in order to delete xe2x80x9cduplicatexe2x80x9d functions. This deletion takes place transparently to the user.
According to a first embodiment of the invention, the said telephone terminal comprises means of querying the said removable data medium about whether each of the functions in the first function set is present in the second function set, the said means being capable of deleting functions for each function for which the reply to the said query is positive.
In other words, the telephone terminal is in control and requests the removable data medium to provide it with information about its own function set in order to detect (after comparison) functions that were already included in the function set belonging to the telephone terminal, before deleting it or them.
In the second embodiment of the invention the said removable data medium comprises means of informing the said telephone terminal about functions common to the said first and second function sets, that the said removable data medium must delete from the said first function set.
In this case, the removable data medium manages deletion of the function(s) common to the two function sets available within the telephone terminal.
According to a third embodiment of the invention, the said removable data medium comprises means of supplying the said telephone terminal with the list of the said second function set, such that the said telephone terminal deletes functions common to the said first and second function sets from the first function set.
The telephone terminal then manages the deletion (and possibly prior comparison) of common functions starting from the list of functions provided by the removable data medium.
Advantageously, it applies to a radiocommunication system radio telephone.
Preferably, the said radiocommunication system belongs to the group comprising:
GSM type radiocommunication systems;
DCS 1800 type radiocommunication systems;
PCS 1900 type radiocommunication systems;
UPTS type radiocommunication systems;
DECT type radiocommunication systems.
Obviously, this list of radiocommunication systems is in no way restrictive.
Advantageously, the said removable data medium is at least partly included in a subscriber identity module.
In other words, the removable module may be the SIM card, or an independent card (or other).
The invention also relates to a process for the management of function menus used by the telephone terminal described above. In particular, this type of process comprises a step in which the said first function set deletes a function present in the said second function set.
The invention also relates to a removable data medium that could work in cooperation with the telephone terminal described above. In particular, this type of medium comprises means of deleting a function present in the said second function set, from the said first function set.